> Here's why I say this ... Joni's work with the then > darling of the recording industry, the Fairlight CMI > (computer musical instrument) is every bit as fresh, > innovative and daring as any of her alternate guitar > tunings, and the counterpoint lines she uses (or > directed Dolby to use, same diff)as engaging as > anything on HOSL or DJRD.
Good to see you back, Don/Larry! And thank you for saying what I've been thinking during the past few days of DED bashing. The only thing I would add is that I've always felt that the production of DED suits the material. The title alone indicates that this isn't your typical Joni Mitchell album. Although the CBC program completely skipped everything from WTRF to Turbulent Indigo, Joni made some comment about looking outward at the state of the world which was not a popular thing to do. The film had 'Sex Kills' playing at that point but I think Joni was probably referring to DED and whatever further information there was about that period of her music was edited out and the voice over was used in the part about Turbulent Indigo. Except for 'Good Friends', 'Impossible Dreamer', 'Ethiopia' and 'Lucky Girl', this record isn't meant to sound pretty. The sound reflects tension and anxiety. There is an underlying sense in the music that our society and culture are being driven by some vast machinery controlled by powerful but covert forces. Listen to the lines 'oh and deep in the night/appetites find us/release us and blind us' from 'The Three Great Stimulants'. I get an image of chained slaves being driven in some deep, dark place to do repititive, mind and body-numbing work that keeps the machinery going. 'Dog Eat Dog' isn't 'Song to A Seagull'. It isn't 'Blue' or 'Court and Spark' or 'Hejira'. This isn't a record about Joni's love life or her ongoing quest for self-knowledge. DED is a record about greed, exploitation, apathy, the perversion of spiritual values, wanton disregard of damage to our planet, corruption, decadence, herd mentatlity, poverty of both body & spirit. Why should it sound pretty? And I agree with Don. I have never thought that this record sounds like anything else that came out of the 80s. As with every other album, Joni's sound is distinctive, original and very much her own. Before I get off the soap box I would like to make one more point. DED was an essential step in Joni's artistic development. If you listen to 'Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm', the sythesizers are still in the forefront but the record is more melodic and focused on the personal than DED. When she made 'Night Ride Home' she had come to a point where she was using the synths as shading or to accent certain points of the songs. Listen to how she uses them in 'Passion Play' or the way they once again create a tense, frightening sound in 'Slouching Toward Bethlehem'. Brilliant and wonderful. And if she hadn't started learning how to use this instrument back in the 80s, she might never have gotten to the point where she could use it so beautifully on NRH and Turbulent Indigo. Joni is more than capable or creating valid, interesting work without have to use a guitar or a piano. Her talent is much broader than that. Mark E in Seattle --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.459 / Virus Database: 258 - Release Date: 2/26/2003
